


The Definition of Normal

by talizorahvasnerd



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Friendship, Post-Canon, What-If
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-18
Updated: 2016-10-24
Packaged: 2018-08-23 06:13:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,118
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8316883
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/talizorahvasnerd/pseuds/talizorahvasnerd
Summary: With a wife and two children, Dudley has settled well into a calm life. He has a stable job as a gym teacher and lives in a comfortable house in a good neighborhood. After all these years everything is finally completely normal. Then his son jumps off the swingset.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey there to anyone actually reading this ^^. I started writing this last year but it didn’t come out all too well. I’m in college now and I finally found the motivation to try again. I know that J.K. Rowling considered this idea but then decided against it, but the thought of Dudley having a kid who’s a wizard just seemed too interesting to not try writing. I’m trying my best to get details as accurate as possible, although if I get anything wrong just tell me, there’s only so much google can help with. I’m not a professional, I’m just a teenager who wants to write something, so if you’ve got suggestions or criticism, I’d appreciate it greatly!

      If someone asked Dudley how he expected his life to turn out, he certainly wouldn’t have guessed it’d be like this. He always thought it’d be just him and his gang forever, maybe running his father’s company if he was working. He definitely didn’t think Harry would be any part of it. He didn’t remember when he had last even seen Piers, let alone the rest of the group. He had no part in any of his father’s company, and instead got a job as a school’s wrestling coach. He had a family now, a wife and two kids. Perhaps the most surprising of all was the identity of the man he was currently talking to.  
     The conversation between he and Harry was comfortably idle, both of them keeping a quiet watch on their children as they all ran around the playground. Neither of their wives had joined them on this particular trip. He remembered Harry mentioning something about his wife having some sort of deadline coming up, and Dudley knew his own wife was perfectly happy to have a few hours to herself. His youngest child, Daisy was wandering around the equipment, having little luck in her current game of hide-and-seek. The small girl was obviously very frustrated, her anger seeming to negatively affect her ability to look for the other players. As much as he wanted to point out that James was hiding in the slide and Lily was simply under a bench, he knew it’d be better for her to find out on her own. He wasn’t about to teach her that cheating was okay after all. His son Jacob required a less observation, as he was simply sitting on the swing, having an animated conversation with Albus. Dudley only occasionally looked back at Jacob, who was slowly swinging higher and higher. When Jacob was going a little too high for his comfort, he opened his mouth to tell him to slow down. But what happened next kept him silent in shock.

  
He jumped.

* * *

      Harry wasn’t sure if he should feel shocked or amused as Jacob slowly floated back to the ground. There was no mistaking the irony of these current events, even if it was the last thing he ever expected. With a small smile he turned back to Dudley before realizing that his cousin didn’t quite understand what was happening. “You know, my mum did the same thing when she was a kid.”

      It seemed to take a few moments for his words to finally kick in. Dudley took a deep breath, obviously trying to keep his voice even. “Does that mean he’s...well…” Dudley didn’t finish his sentence, and his expression currently seemed unreadable to Harry.  
     “A wizard? Definitely, and that won’t be the first bit of magic you see, just try not to get too mad at him.” He finished talking with a small hint of humor, hoping that Dudley would take it better than he expected. Luckily, Dudley nodded, still looking uncertain, but not angry.  
     “I don’t know how things will turn out, but no matter what, he’s still my son” Harry couldn’t help but grin, almost unable to believe this was the same person who bullied him relentlessly for all of his childhood. Gone was the kid who chased him, beat him up, and took great pleasure in his misfortunes. He never expected to still be in contact with Dudley after all these years, but at this moment, he was glad he did.

“It’ll be fine Dud, this doesn’t make any of you abnormal”

* * *

      Jacob wasn’t quite sure why he jumped off of that swing, but it was really fun! Just as he was about to go again, Albus had gotten off of his own swing, and he could see James and Lily running out of their hiding places, somehow still managing to avoid the watch of his little sister. Did they want to do that too? If they did, he didn’t know what to tell them. He didn’t know how he did it. Instead, Albus laughed, James cheered, and Lily just looked extremely excited. Lily was the first to speak up, the younger girl looking as if she was unable to stay still. “You did magic! You actually did magic!”

Wait, what were they saying?

      Lily was only six, surely she didn’t know what she was talking about, right? However neither James or Albus looked as if they were about to disagree with her, both of them nodding along. Was this some sort of game? “You jumped off of there and flew! It was so cool!” James punched into the air, looking at him with amazement. With a small laugh, Jacob shook his head.  
      “You’re joking, right? Magic isn’t real!”. He looked to Albus, hoping for some sort of clarification from his calmest cousin. Instead, he just pushed his glasses up and smiled  
     “No, it’s real, we can do that too, and so can our parents. It means you’re a wizard!”. Albus’ voice held poorly contained joy, and the thought started to sink into Jacob’s head. None of them seemed to be joking after all, but could he really be a wizard? He was just some normal kid, how did he manage to do magic?  
James spoke up again, swelling up in pride as if he were the one to explain everything. “I’m going to Hogwarts next year, Albus and Lily are gonna be able to go too, and now we’ll also be able to see you there!”  
     Hogwarts? What kind of name was that? To Jacob, it just plain sounded silly. Before he could ask, Lily squealed in excitement. “It’s a school! You go there to learn how to do magic!”  
     Still, Jacob was unsure of what to think. “There’s a school where you learn magic? I’ve never heard of a place like that before” However, it was obvious that his cousins weren’t about to let him stay suspicious for long, as James had grabbed his hand to drag him over to where his father and uncle were talking.

“Come on! We’ve got to tell them! This is gonna be great!”


	2. Jumping on the bed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dudley tells his wife the news. Or at least he tries to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m back again, this time writing fanfiction instead of actually paying attention in my ethics class.  
> Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling, I am not her

 

After the revelation from earlier, Dudley couldn’t help but expect everything to be drastically different. Much to his surprise, the drive home from the playground went exactly as it always would. Daisy rehashed the events of their day out, telling each and every little part as if the others weren’t there. Jacob was mostly quiet, looking out the window and only turning around to occasionally respond to his sister’s enthusiasm. It was a ridiculous expectation really, what did he expect would happen? That Jacob would suddenly be showing off magic in the car? Whether it was something in his control or not, Dudley knew it simply wasn’t in his son’s nature to brag. The young boy seemed perfectly happy to just take in the world around him.

As they got closer to home, his mind then drifted to his current hurdle: his wife. While she wasn’t against the very thought of imagination like his parents had been, it didn’t change the fact that she could be rather skeptical. If anything, she’d probably just assume he was drunk if he told her right out. Even if Jacob said something to her, she’d just assume he was playing pretend. To her, magic was just something that only children believed in. Convincing her otherwise would be an ordeal no matter what. However, he decided as he parked the car, that it’d be better to do it sooner rather than later.

 

Andrea had heard many weird things in her life. She used to work as a bartender after all, it was part of the job description. All the drunken ramblings of strangers, however, didn’t hold a candle to what her (definitely sober) husband was now telling her. Magic? It’d be one thing if her children were claiming it was real. All she’d need to do was pat them on the head and go on with her day. Dudley was an adult, and even if he wasn’t exactly a genius, he wasn’t a total idiot either. She waited for her children to run back up to their rooms before turning to face him. 

“So, what you’re trying to say is that our son just jumped off a swing and magically floated back down?” Andrea’s response came out harsher than she had meant, although her husband didn’t look at all taken aback. Instead he took a deep breath, answering her with a calmness she didn’t know he was capable of. 

“As weird as it sounds, I’m not joking. Harry and his family can do it too.” 

If it weren’t for the yearly Christmas cards and occasional meetup, Andrea would have nearly forgotten the existence of Dudley’s cousin. She never saw him around Stonewall, so she had always assumed that he just went to Smeltings with Dudley or that they never had classes near each other. Andrea never made much effort to look for him anyway, they had never even spoken to each other in primary school. Andrea didn’t want to think about the blanks it may fill, the possibility of it gave her a headache and a craving for a drink she really shouldn’t be having while the kids are home. Instead she sighed, leaning against the hallway wall. It didn’t matter if it made just a little sense, it still sounded just far too unreal to believe.  “Look Dudley, I know this is something the kids would believe in, and I’m not them. Chances are Jacob just took the fall softly. Jumping off a swing isn’t magical, it’s just a kid playing around”. Andrea had never seen her husband try pulling off a prank like this, and it was honestly just not something she was in the mood for.

  
  


Daisy was originally going to go downstairs for a snack, but her curiosity towards the conversation between her parents was enough to make her wait. The five year old wasn’t sure what they were talking about, yet the mention of both magic and her brother stuck. What did Jacob have to do with magic? She had already started feeling left out after James,  Albus, and Lily seemed to completely ignore her towards the end of their trip to the playground, and the way her parents were talking now left her feeling a little jealous. As much as Daisy loved her older brother, she was just not willing to put up with feeling forgotten much longer.

The sound of bedsprings creaking loudly snapped Daisy out of her thoughts. Jacob was the only other person upstairs with her, and his door was closed. Just what was he doing? Opening the door, Daisy immediately saw Jacob jumping on his bed. What was he doing? He’d get in trouble! They both knew that their parents didn’t want them jumping on the bed, it was a rule that had been put in place when she slipped of the bed years ago. Ever since then, Daisy hadn’t seen her brother do this once. When Jacob finally jumped off the bed, things started getting weird.

Daisy expected there to be a loud thump, perhaps even some crying if she knew the older boy well enough. Instead, time seemed to go in slow motion, as Jacob gently drifted down to the floor, whatever noise there could possibly be muffled by the carpet beneath them. Finally noticing his sister frozen at the doorway, he grinned, grabbing her hand and pulling her into the room. With a giddy expression on his face, Jacob told Daisy something that would change their lives forever.

“I’m a wizard! That’s what Lily told me! I mean, at first I didn’t believe her, but then Albus and James told me she was right! It seemed really weird at first but they pulled me over to uncle Harry and apparently he can do it too! They even said I get to go to a magic school when I’m older!”

It was the fastest Daisy had ever heard her brother speak, yet she was was still able to take in every word. For anyone older than her, the thought would have made no sense, but for a five year old? Everything seemed perfectly understandable to her. But that only raised another question. “If you could do it, maybe I can do it too? You were flying, right? Can you show me how to do that?”

Giving her a quick once-over, Jacob nodded, helping her stand up onto his bed. Still holding hands, they began to jump at the same time. When it was time to make the leap, they let go of each other, going separately. 

Daisy had hoped, even expected to stay up in the air, to be in slow motion just like her brother. But instead she simply hit the ground with a painful thud. Meanwhile, Jacob was still in midair, only joining her on the ground a few seconds later. Ignoring the throbbing in her ankle, Daisy stood up, now on the verge of tears. “That’s not fair! Why can’t I do that too?”

“Maybe it’ll show up when you’re older? I mean, I only just did this today…” Jacob reached out to comfort his sister, who simply whacked his hand away, leaving the room crying.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here we are, these are the last two new characters that will be introduced until Jacob is in Hogwarts. I personally had a lot of fun writing Andrea, and the symbolism behind both her and Daisy will come into play later in the story. The next chapter will bring in Petunia and Vernon, and afterwards the pacing may change a little. There’s still time before Jacob is in Hogwarts, although that will make up the bulk of the story. I hope you all hang in there!


	3. Never too late

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dudley gives his parents the news

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry for taking long on this chapter! Motivation doesn’t always seem to like me very much, and personal life got in the way as well. I was really nervous while I was writing this chapter. Vernon and Petunia are going to be big parts throughout this fanfiction, and I just hope I did them justice. I know a lot of people just portray them as saying and doing the worst things possible, but I don’t want to hit that pitfall, they’re still human. 
> 
> I do not own Harry Potter

On the outside, Number Four Privet Drive looked exactly the same as it always had. The vibrant green grass and the perfectly trimmed hedges made Dudley feel as if no time had passed at all. It wasn’t much different on the inside either, although the amount of pictures on the walls had more than doubled. Alongside the pictures of his own childhood were ones of Jacob and Daisy. A picture of his wedding hung over the fireplace, a picture from Harry’s surprisingly right next to it. The relationship between his cousin and his parents was strained, Dudley didn’t think they’d ever fully get along. If asked, both of them would still claim to dislike Harry, however Dudley couldn’t forget how quiet they’d been when the picture was first sent to them. It’s place on the wall now represented a quiet resignation. Watching the warm greeting his parents gave his children, Dudley could only hope things would remain the same by the end of the day.

  
If he were to be honest, Dudley could only pretend to care about what his parents were talking about. His mother went on and on about the family that just moved into the neighborhood, he had stopped paying attention once she started talking about what their front lawn looked like. Every so often his father would interrupt the conversation, saying something about a television program he had been watching. How would his parents react to what he was about to tell them? Would they be angry? Ashamed? What if they started to hate Jacob for it? No, Dudley knew they wouldn’t do that to him. They doted on Jacob and Daisy, they would see past this, they had to. It was now or never. Putting down his teacup, Dudley spoke up, interrupting his mother’s current rant. “There’s something I need to tell you both. It’s about Jacob, something he did last week”  
“So what did he do? Come on, make us proud!”. Dudley watched his father’s expression carefully. Jacob was always the quiet one, but his father would always insist it was just something he’d grow out of. Obviously he was hoping that this would be the news they were receiving. Dudley didn’t want to ruin the hopeful look on his father’s face, but he had to keep going.

  
“He didn’t get into a fight if that’s what you’re thinking. No, he well...he…” taking a deep breath, Dudley continued to speak. “He was on a swingset and he just jumped right off, it was like he was flying. He’s a wizard.”

 Vernon knew Jacob was always a little oddball. But it was probably just some sort of phase, he’d grow out of it, be normal. But this? Would his grandson ever be normal? If he didn’t hear his son’s voice raise, he wouldn’t have known that he spoke those words out loud.  
“He’s the same kid he always was dad, even if it’s not what any of us consider normal, that’s what it’ll be for him. I know you expect him to be tough and act like me, but that’s not what Jacob is, that wouldn’t be normal for him at all.”

  
Vernon didn’t want to admit it, but his son had a point. If anything, he felt a little proud that he stood up the way he did. His grandson may be a bit of a weirdo, but maybe that’s what made him normal after all. There was nothing about magic that he saw as normal, but for his grandson, maybe he could try to look at things a little differently? Petunia had been silent ever since Dudley spoke up, and when he turned to his wife he could see the conflicted expression on her face. Just what did she think of the situation?

  
Memories ran through Petunia’s mind, flashes of each time she had learned of similar news. She remembered being a child, taking her anger and jealousy out on a sister who just wanted the both of them to be happy. She remembered being a young adult, finding all that was left of that sister, a baby wrapped in a blanket on her doorstep. As the years went by she never let go of that hatred. She had lived most of her life seeing both her sister and nephew not as humans, but as undesirable freaks. It would never be easy to let go of the emotions she held tight for so long, but the determined look on her son’s face gave her the boost she needed. Petunia didn’t want to make the same mistake again, she couldn’t allow it. It was far too late for her sister, and there was no taking back anything that had happened to Harry. Perhaps Jacob was the chance that she desperately needed. She quickly glanced at her grandson’s baby picture on the wall before finally speaking. Petunia’s voice was quiet, but steady. “Jacob is our grandson, nothing can change that”  
Those words were all she could bring herself to say, yet they seemed to be enough. The tension in both her son and husband’s postures started to loosen, and after a few moments everything began to look exactly as it had before. Petunia stayed silent as Dudley and Vernon began talking. All she could think about was contacting Harry, hoping that thirty three years was not too late to pay respects to a grave.


End file.
